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THE SEVENTH DAY SABBATH WAS KEPT IN EGYPT BY THE ISRAELITES AND WAS INSTITUTED BY GOD AT CREATION
Many Sunday keepers believe that the seventh day Sabbath was instituted at
Sinai. But this is an error that can easily be proved wrong. Not only will we show you that the seventh day Sabbath was instituted at creation, we will show
you that the Israelites knew about it in Egypt and that God told them to honour the Sabbath even before the law was "written down" and "confirmed" at Sinai.
Exodus 5:4-5 ...'And the king of Egypt said unto them, Wherefore do ye, Moses and Aaron, let the people from their works? get you unto your burdens. And Pharaoh said, Behold, the people of the land now are many, and ye make them REST from their burdens.'
The word "rest" in the above verse is the Hebrew word "shabath", and this word for rest is used many times throughout Genesis and Exodus in connection with the seventh day Sabbath. Take a look at the following examples:
Genesis 2:2-3 ...'And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested [SHABATH] on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested [SHABATH] from all his work which God created and made'
Exodus 16:30 ...'So the people rested [SHABATH] on the seventh day.'
Exodus 31:17 ...'It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested [SHABATH] and was refreshed.'
2 Chronicles 36:21 ...'To fulfil the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her sabbaths: for as long as she lay desolate she kept sabbath [SHABATH] to fulfil threescore and ten years.'
So what does it appear that Pharaoh was complaining to Moses about? If we connect the "REST" that Moses was causing the people to take, with the seventh day Sabbath as per the above verses, then it seems that Moses was actually getting the Israelites to honour the seventh day Sabbath REST, which is why Pharaoh charged Moses with "letting the people from their works" and "made them REST from their burdens." Surely that rest must have been in connection with the seventh day Sabbath. Of course, we know that Pharaoh increased their burden of work due to this and thus probably stopped them from keeping the Sabbath properly, but how do we know for sure that this "rest" Moses was getting the people to honour was the seventh day Sabbath? Well, let us take a look. First, let us look at the fourth commandment and observe something that many people miss:
Exodus 20:8-11 ...'Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.'
Do you see what God is pointing to here? He is pointing to creation week and God is pointing to the seventh day of creation week and calling that 7th day - "THE SABBATH DAY" Do you see it?
This is an important point that many people miss. Sunday keepers often say that the seventh day Sabbath wasn't instituted until Sinai. And yet when you actually read the 4th commandment properly, you can clearly see that God is confirming that the Sabbath was instituted at creation week. Which is why God calls the 7th day of creation "THE SABBATH DAY" in the 4th commandment. This is why God starts the 4th commandment with the word "REMEMBER." He is not introducing a new commandment, but confirming one that was already in existence. We also know from Exodus 16 that the seventh day Sabbath was already in existence before the law was confirmed at Sinai, look:
Exodus 16:4 ...'Then said the Lord unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no.'
Before I go onto the next verses I just wanted to confirm something clear here. This was BEFORE the law was confirmed and written down at Sinai, and yet God is saying that He is going to test the Israelites to see if they will walk in His law or not. What law? The "giving of the law" at Sinai has not happened yet! And this is what many people misunderstand regarding the law. They think that the law given at Sinai was a BRAND NEW law, when the truth is, God was simply confirming His law that was already in existence at Sinai and simply giving it in written format which had never happened before. Now look at what God tests the people with:
Exodus 16:22-23,26 ...'And it came to pass, that on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for one man: and all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses. And he said unto them, This is that which the Lord hath said, To morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the Lord: bake that which ye will bake to day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning ... Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is the sabbath, in it there shall be none.'
This is BEFORE Sinai and God confirms that the seventh day IS the Sabbath day of rest!
So God said that He would test the people to see if they would walk in His law, and then He goes on to test them regarding the seventh day Sabbath, which wasn't something new, or something that God was yet to institute at Sinai. It was already in existence, which is why in the 4th commandment God was pointing back to creation week, showing that the seventh day of the week was the Sabbath day from creation, and also which is why in the above verse in Exodus 16, the seventh day IS ALREADY the Sabbath day. Look at the connection:
Genesis 2:3 ...'And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.'
Exodus 16:26 ...'Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh day, WHICH IS the sabbath, in it there shall be none.'
Exodus 20:11 ...'For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed THE SABBATH DAY, and hallowed it.'
Do you see? It all points to the seventh day Sabbath being instituted at creation and already in existence BEFORE Sinai. And how many Jews were there at creation? None! Which is why Jesus DIDN'T say the Sabbath was "made for the Jews," but that the Sabbath was "made for MAN[KIND]" (Mark 2:27). It was made for Adam and Eve and all their descendants [MAN-KIND]. So we can see that the "rest" which Moses caused the Israelites in Egypt to keep was the seventh day Sabbath rest. The holy day of God. A day that has NEVER been abolished or changed by God. A day that we will even continue to keep on the new earth for eternity (Isaiah 66:22-23). So the question is, are you being faithful to God or not? Are you keeping God's holy 7th day Sabbath or not?
Please see this 1886 chart - THE CHART OF THE WEEK - showing the 7th day Sabbath (our Saturday) to be the Sabbath in all ancient languages.
For more studies on the Sabbath, please see our following pages:
HISTORICAL EVIDENCE SHOWING THE SABBATH IS SATURDAY
THE GATES OF NEW JERUSALEM, THE GENTILES AND THE SABBATH
A TREE, A RIVER AND THE SABBATH
SUNDAY CHURCHES MISSING KEY POINT OF FAITH REGARDING SABBATH